We've got hit by Shellshock

We've got hit by Shellshock

You might have heard by now about a new problem in the computer world - Shellshock. I'll spare you the technical details. The one thing you should know is that this bug was discovered in a part of the Linux operating system. Linux, the free version of Unix, with numerous variations in distribution, is embedded in countless number of devices. As far as people know, the bug was introduced sometimes in 1992.

Developers are working hard and creating fixes and patches and updates; and distributing them as fast as possible. As they do, they are finding additional vulnerabilities. However, that's not the problem.

The issue at hand is that the number of devices affected is now in 100's of millions. The majority of website servers are using some version of Linux. Apple computers are vulnerable, your home router, which connects you to the Internet has it. Any device branded as 'smart' is most likely to run a version of Linux. Vendors of all stripes, which chose to use Linux, are also affected. It is everywhere. All these devices are connected to the Internet and not all of them can be even fixed.

This is the problem. We know which line of code to fix, but we don't know where to apply it. If you thought that you didn't have a problem before, now you do.

Trending this week...

This week brought us some interesting, note-worthy articles and news: (Thanks to many readers who alerted me to the news worthy topics!!)

- Apple released iOS update and took it down shortly after. It was buggy. Once you become a big company even small problem creates big headache. When software update removes the ability to use the phone to make a phone calls, we call it an issue not a feature.

- Google is fighting anti-trust case in Europe. Google owns 90% of the search market. Europeans want to create a level playing field for the others.

- US Supreme Court ruled that a patent adding the word 'computer' to an idea is not a new idea. OK, it is little bit more complex than that. It should prevent patents trolls from creating useless patents and extort money from individuals and companies.

- Amazon tops the list of 25 biggest advertisers on Google. The top 25 spent over $1 billion.